2016 so far has turned out to be a nightmare for the equity investors. Portfolios have undergone a massive value erosion and sentiment has turned extremely negative. Financial advisors, who were recommending a higher allocation to equity so far, have also become cautious to advise higher equity investments. Some analysts have started calling it a bearish phase and not just a deep correction in a bullish phase.

However, it is not just the equity portfolios which are bleeding. Debt portion of portfolios are also facing the music. Past few months have seen the 10-year G-Sec yield rising to 7.95% from a range of 7.60-7.65% in September last year. Due to a scary fall in international crude prices and commodity prices like steel, aluminium etc., many companies are facing it difficult to service their debt. Credit rating agencies have also started downgrading these companies resulting in a fall in the NAVs of debt mutual funds which have lent huge money to such companies.

In such a difficult environment, investors want to opt for safer investment options and it seems that tax-free bonds are among the best options available. NHAI is launching one such issue from 24th February i.e. Wednesday and the issue is scheduled to get closed on the first of March. NHAI will raise Rs. 3,300 crore from this issue.

Here you have the salient features of this issue:

Size of the Issue – Though base size of this issue is Rs. 500 crore, NHAI will retain an additional Rs. 2,800 crore in case of oversubscription, thus making it a Rs. 3,300 crore issue. NHAI has already raised approximately Rs. 15,700 crore by issuing tax-free bonds through its public issue in December and a couple of private placements in September 2015 and February 2016.

With this Rs. 3,300 crore issue, NHAI will exhaust its full quota of Rs. 19,000 crore for the current financial year.

Coupon Rates on Offer – With a widening gap between the 10-year G-Sec yield and 15-year G-Sec yield, NHAI issue will carry 7.69% coupon rate for 15 years and 7.29% for 10 years. As with its first issue, 20-year investment option will not be there this time as well.

For the non-retail investors, coupon rate will be lower by 25 basis points (or 0.25%) for the 10-year option and 30 basis points (or 0.30%) for the 15-year option.

Rating of the Issue – CRISIL, ICRA, CARE and India Ratings have once again assigned ‘AAA’ rating to this issue. Also, these bonds are ‘Secured’ in nature i.e. in case of any default, the bondholders would carry a right to make claim on certain assets of the company.

NRI/QFI Investment Not Allowed – Like its previous issue, Non-Resident Indians (NRIs) won’t be able to make investment in this issue as well. Qualified Foreign Investors (QFIs) are also not eligible to invest in this issue.

Investor Categories & Allocation Ratio – The investors have been classified in the following four categories and each category will have certain percentage of the issue size reserved during the allocation process:

Allotment on First Come First Served Basis – Subject to the allocation ratio, allotment will be made on a first come first serve (FCFS) basis in each of the investor categories, based on the date of upload of each application into the electronic system of the stock exchanges.

Listing & Allotment – NHAI has again decided to get these bonds listed on both the stock exchanges i.e. National Stock Exchange (NSE) as well as Bombay Stock Exchange (BSE). Bonds will be allotted and get listed on the exchanges within 12 working days from the closing date of the issue.

Demat A/c. Not Mandatory – Again, it is not mandatory to have a demat account to apply for these bonds. Investors have the option to subscribe to these bonds in physical form also. Also, even if you get these bonds allotted in your demat account, you have the option to rematerialize your holding in physical/certificate form if you decide to close your demat account in future.

However, whether you apply for these bonds in demat form or physical form, the interest payment will still get credited to your bank account through ECS.

No Lock-In Period – These tax-free bonds do not carry any lock-in period and you can buy/sell them on the stock exchanges at the market price whenever you want.

Interest on Application Money & Refund – Successful allottees will earn interest at the applicable coupon rates i.e. 7.29% p.a. for 10 years and 7.69% p.a. for 15 years, from the date of realization of application money up to one day prior to the deemed date of allotment. Unsuccessful allottees will get interest @ 5% per annum on their refund money.

Minimum & Maximum Investment – Investors are required to put in a minimum investment of Rs. 5,000 in this issue i.e. at least 5 bonds of face value Rs. 1,000 each. There is no upper limit for the investors to invest in this issue. However, an investor investing more than Rs. 10 lakhs will be categorized as a high networth individual (HNI) and will get a lower rate of interest as applicable.

Interest Payment Date – NHAI will make its first interest payment on October 1 this year and subsequent interest payments will also be made on October 1 every year, except the last interest payment, which will be made to the bondholders along with the redemption amount on the maturity date.

Record Date – For the payment of interest or the maturity amount, record date will be fixed 15 days prior to the date on which such amount is due to be payable.

Should you invest in this issue?

I think tax-free bonds are one of the best fixed income options available for the retail investors. There is no fixed income option which carries so many distinct advantages which these bonds have, like tax-free interest, easy liquidity, favourable tax liability if sold after holding for more than one year, scope of capital appreciation, annual interest payments etc. Risk-averse investors with a long term view should definitely invest in these bonds.

Also, there is no certainty that these bonds will be allowed to be issued next year as well. For that, we’ll have to wait for the Budget speech on February 29. In case the Finance Minister decides not to allow these bonds for the next year, it will result in a sharp increase in their demand. Also, as there is a difference of 0.40% between the interest rates of 10-year bonds and 15-year bonds, I think it makes more sense to subscribe to the 15-year option.

Note: As per SEBI guidelines, ‘Bidding’ is mandatory before banking the application form, else the application is liable to get rejected. For bidding of your application, any further info or to invest in NHAI tax-free bonds, you can contact me at +919811797407

Thanks for the info. Had a question regarding interest payment date; you’ve mentioned interested will be paid on Oct 1 every year; I remember reading it as April 1st in ICICIDirect. Which one is correct?

One more question please Mr. Shiv…If i have invested 1 Lac rs in dec issue of nhai (value = 1000 rs for each bond)…and after 15 years, bond value is 1200 rs, then i should be getting my invested amount only or the market value at that time…consider also scenario in which value is decreased after 15 years.

After 15 years on the maturity date, the market value of these bonds will be Rs. 1,000 each i.e. exactly equal to its face value of Rs. 1,000. No buyer would give you Rs. 1,200 against which he/she is going to get Rs. 1,000 back from NHAI.

Thanks Shiv,
But would it be easier to sell these bonds on the secondary market? I read somewhere that demand for these bonds wouldnt be much and it would be really hard to sell them at a higher price.

Hi Temp,
It is definitely a good idea to invest in equities for long term wealth creation. Bond investment is meant for risk averse investors and/or to rebalance your portfolio as per your asset allocation targets.

Hi RS,
It is primarily because NHAI issue has come at a very short notice. Moreover, investors did not want to invest more in NHAI as they had already invested good amount in December and got full allotment.

QQs:
1. What is the expected size of IRFC and HUDCO TFBs? What would be the retail portion for these?
2. Is there a link on NSE/BSE where the future/forthcoming TFBs are listed in advance? If so, could you pls share that link(s)?

Thanks Bobby!
1. IRFC issue size should be Rs. 2,450 crore and HUDCO issue size should be around Rs. 1,788.50 crore. Out of these figures, 40% would be reserved for the retail individual investors.
2. There is no such link which provides advance details of the forthcoming issues.

Dear Shiv,
your article is very useful. If I want to sell these bonds, what is the ideal time for selling them? Because if i sell them near the maturity time, I suppose there will be less taker, I suppose.

Thanks Meenu!
It is very difficult to guesstimate the ideal time to sell these bonds, but I think one should sell these bonds whenever India’s Macroeconomic situation improves considerably – controlled fiscal deficit & current account deficit, reasonably healthy GDP growth, low inflation, exports-imports get recovered, reforms get implemented.

Hi Ramadas,
It is an incorrect information you have read. NABARD has been authorised to raise Rs. 5,000 crore by issuing tax-free bonds this financial year. It will raise Rs. 1,500 through private placement, after which it will have to mandatorily raise Rs. 3,500 crore through a public issue. It cannot raise more than 30% of the allocated amount through private placement.

You are right Shiv. I just reread in Financial express that they are raising 1500 crore through private placement of TFB. Nothing was mentioned on public issue and I was under the impression that it is only private placement. Thanks for clarifying.

Thanks Venu,
1. Yes, if the bond yields (YTM) go down, then the market value of these bonds would go up. Tax-Free Bonds issued two years ago are all trading at a 20-25% premium.
2. Yes, the market value of these bonds can also go down, if the bond yields go up. They are called fixed income investments as these bonds carry coupon rate of 7.69% per annum which remains fixed throughout its tenure of 15 years, irrespective of its market price going up or down.
3. Yes, full year’s interest will be paid to the bondholder whose name is there in the records of the company on the record date.
4. Its value will be equal to its face value on maturity as nobody will pay you any premium for the bonds which will cease to exist on maturity.

As you mentioned that TFBs issued 2 years ago are trading at 20 – 25% premium currently, so will their market value come down toward their face value as their maturity date comes close? As you mentioned in another comment, as the maturity date comes near no one will pay more than the face value as that is what they will get for the bond on the maturity date. Just wanted to clarify my understanding. Thanks.

Shiv, Have to admire your super patience and kindness in replying to so many repeat and mundane questions … by many ‘novice’ people who are anxious to do the right thing with their savings. Good to know you do this service with no upfront charge. The many sincere thanks you receive are payment enough, I guess. Great work!

Kindly let me know the charges by law, that generally DEMAT Service Providers can charge customers for ‘off market’ DEMAT transfers of TFB’s/Equity between 2 family Accounts of same DEMAT service provider.

I fully agree with Vin and others.
Shiv, all your postings and replies on TFB are very useful to us. I really appreciate your dedication on this forum. Looking forward for upcoming TFB issues and your posts. Once again, thanks a million, from bottom of my heart.

Shiv
Any idea why the subscription is so low.I really expected it to see only 47% like last time but seems quite a high number will get this time.
Is it because of HUDCO,IRFC,NABARD following or people investing in equity direct as many shares are at a bargain?
Thanks

Hi Harinee,
As I have mentioned above, I think it is primarily because NHAI issue has come at a very short notice. Also, investors probably do not want to invest more in NHAI as they had already invested good amount in December and got full allotment.

Hi Harinee,
It is the human nature to get unduly scared and excited. Markets are falling due to the sins Congress did in the past and are doing in the present. The present government is trying to correct those anomalies and I think the course correction is taking its own sweet time. Global economic conditions are also working as headwinds and our wounds are getting more painful.

Dear Shiv,
I know it’s too late for retail investors now to buy this 2nd tranche, but how do you go about buying this TFB? Can it be bought online without doing any paperwork? I’m having ICICI direct trading account, but don’t see it listed. Can I buy it directly from NHAI?
Want to be better prepared for next time 🙂

You can buy in secondary market from ICICI direct. Buy the earlier issues listed.Go to Equity, NCD List. You will find some list of TFBs. Click on view more. All the TFB with YTM will appear. Buy which ever is good for you. You need not boy NHAI only, there are whole lot of companies like NTPC, IRFC etc. Based on YTM, you can choose. ICICI Direct charges anothe 1.1 % towards brokerage etc. take that also into account.

Thanks George. For the upcoming TFB where do I find it? For eg HUDCO tranche 2 is coming on 2nd March, but I’m not able to find it on icici direct. Will it show up only on 2nd March? and if so, will it be listed in the same place you mentioned (under “Equity”, “NCD List”)?
Thanks for your response.

These are normally available under IPO. I do not recollect seeing this in the app, but have invested in the past using icicidirect.com. Had also received a mail from icicidirect regarding the ipo a couple of days ago.

If you buy in secondary, additional brokerage charges may be incurred so may make sense to wait for the ipo of the other issuers.

Green-Shoe option is the option to retain oversubscription in case the issue gets oversubscribed over and above the base issue size. ‘Coupon’ term originated as historically coupons were affixed to bond certificates and the investors were supposed to detach and surrender the coupons to get their due interest payments periodically. Interest rate and coupon rate are used interchangeably.

Dear Shiv,
Will refund from Hudco tax free bond Tranch II issue come in time for upcoming IRFC or NABARD issue.
As HUDCO issue is smaller, may not get full allotment for 1st day subscribers. So how to go about investing in TFB’s . Wait for the bigger issue ??
Iam puzzled.

Hi Pankaj,
As the launch dates of IRFC and NABARD issues are yet to get announced, it is not possible for me to answer your query with certainty. But, I think if you need to invest in only one issue, then you should wait for the bigger issues of IRFC or NABARD.

Sir,
When do we know about allotment status of NHAI Bonds? Also, I want to apply for HUDCO Bonds, so if in case on non-allotment of NHAI bonds, when can we expect the refund in our account?
Thanks,
Kamlesh

Hi Sampath,
It works on a day-by-day basis. If the issue remains unsusbcribed on Day 1 and gets oversubscribed on Day 2, then Day 1 applicants get full allotment. Pro rata allotment is made to the Day 2 applicants.

Dear Shiv,
I’m trying to understand the data in the table above. Why is the Effective yield for 30.90% tax bracket = 11.13% (for Series 2). Could you share how you calculated this? The formula used? Are you comparing this TFB with another investment whose return is taxable?

Just now I called KARVY COMPUTERSHARE PRIVATE LIMITED who are the Registrar of NHAI, they told me that allotment has not started yet. It will take more 2-3 days. I am puzzled how Mr.VV Patil got the allotment.

Thanks Shiv. I got 89 out of 100 applied. I received SMS from NSDL that 89 bonds are credited to my demat account. But still I am not able to see these allotted bonds in my ICICIDIRECT account. Can you guide me about this.

Even I have n’t received the refund but I believe it should be there by end of today.
Also thanks to Shiv you for the wonderful service you are doing. I just got a question regarding earlier bonds issued in 2013. I practically have bonds from every issue. Do you think it’s good time to book the gains? Or Shall I wait for some more time?

I didn’t get any interest credited to my bank account dear shiv on 1st October dear shiv is it because of Saturday because markets are off on Saturday or it will be credited tomorrow that is on Monday dear shiv

I have received the interest for both the bonds issues on 2012 and the latest one in feb 2016 on 1st october. I think the interest payout for the latest nhai bonds is less since this was not a full year.

Hi Shiv,
I did not get the interest for the NHAI tax free bonds issued in FY 2011-12. Until last year there were no issues. I came to know that registrar changed from MCS to some one else. I wrote emails to MCS but they all bounced. Could you please help letting me know who is the new registrar and its contact number along with email that can be used to contact them in this context?

Shiv, I got the cheque today evening from the new registrar “Integrated Enterprises”. Apparently a transition issue from the old registrar to the new one, so the interest was not auto credited to my bank account 🙂